And we don’t flirt with each other. Not for real.
I take abiggulp of my wine.
And then I say, ‘Oh really? How serious?’ And take another gulp.
‘So serious—’ Tom leans in so far that I can feel his breath whispering across my cheek when he speaks ‘—that I think we should have a rematch.’
My stomach dips and I reach for my glass. Oh. It’s empty.
‘When?’ I croak.
‘Now?’
‘Um.’ I don’t like to play poker when I’ve been drinking, and I definitely don’t feel sober right now.
‘Are you…scared?’
‘Certainly not.’ What I actually need, I realise, is another drink. ‘But can we finish our food first? Because this is delicious.’
‘Of course,’ he says. ‘Never look a gift burger in the mouth.’ There are tiny cheeseburgers and also spicy chickpea and mushroom ones, both in brioches.
‘Yummmm,’ I say after my first mouthful.
‘Stunning,’ Tom agrees, and we munch happily on.
We don’t really talk about much at all, just a bit of commentary on the food and how Carole is an amazing hostess and how much fun it all is.
We’re just finishing our burgers and saying how tempted we both are by the mini pavlovas and treacle tarts that are calling to us from the table, when Bea and Ruth join us.
I realise, to my shame, that I’d completely forgotten about them this evening. My mind’s been too full of someone else.
‘Have you had a go on the rodeo yet?’ Bea asks.
‘Rodeo?’ I query.
‘VR,’ Ruth explains. ‘There’s a gaming room.’
‘Hey.’ Tom nudges my foot with his. ‘I wonder whether they have Brawl Stars.’
‘Porn stars?’ Ruth queries. ‘I’d be surprised.’
‘Brawl,’ I say loudly. ‘It’s a phone game that Tom got me into. I’ve been addicted for ages now. Really annoying, actually.’
‘Hello.’ Carole appears holding bottles of red and white. ‘The Waterloo Five together. So lovely to see. How was the fortune teller? White or red?’ She sloshes wine into all our glasses without waiting for an answer.
‘She was wonderful,’ gush Bea and Ruth.
‘Mmm, yes,’ Tom and I both say.
‘When you’ve finished eating, come to the big room at the back,’ Carole commands. ‘The main part of the evening is barn dancing. Ideally everyone will have a partner, and you are very handily already paired up.’
I look sideways at Tom and see that he’s looking sideways at me.
The only thing I can do is bury my face in my glass. And keep on drinking while Bea and Ruth eat.
* * *
‘Twirl me now,’ I pant some time later. Tom obliges immediately but we’re still half a beat behind the rest of our set (who are much older and on paper you would think less fit but are actuallyamazingat barn dancing).
